It's the time of year again that Seahawks fans have been anticipating. No more watching baseball, catching up on the latest Brett Favre news or replays of old NFL games. Adrenaline is rushing, Seahawks fans are getting their gear out, and everyone is ready for football.

This year it's been a little different. There has been a lot of concern on the offensive side of the ball. The defense has 11 starters returning so the chemistry should be stronger than ever.

It's been three days since the preseason game against the Minnesota Vikings and there have been a lot of questions answered:

• Could the young wide receivers step up and be a target Matt could feel comfortable to throw to?
• Could Steve Vallos, under a lot of pressure, make no mistakes at center?
• Would the O-line do an excellent job at blocking so the running backs could have the holes to run though?
• Who would be the starting kicker?

I, for one, can say I was NOT very optimistic about our offense as a
whole. The only two guys on offense I felt confident about were our
pro-bowl quarterback, Matt Hasselbeck, and our veteran wide receiver, Bobby Engram. But I will be the first to admit the offense proved me wrong; they exceeded beyond my expectations.

For it being Steve Vallos' first NFL game (even if it was only the preseason) he was on point. Not one botched snap from center to quarterback, which is something I was worried about. The offensive line opened holes, blocked very well and made sure Matt had the protection he needed. The young wide receivers did step up their game, and they started off the game with a beautiful 18-yard touchdown pass from Hasselbeck to Kent. There were other young guys who caught passes left and right: Gilmore, Bumpus, Taylor and Obomanu.

John Carlson, our rookie tight end, also shined. He blocked as well as caught passes thrown to him. I think the most exciting thing about the offense was seeing the running game. After the past two years of a horrible running game, questions lingered in the minds of Seahawks fans: with the release of Shaun Alexander and additions of Julius Jones, TJ Duckett, and Mike Wahle, would our running game be improved? There are a lot of new faces and it was refreshing to see MoMo bust through the Vikings defense to gain yards. There was a little disappointment in both Julius Jones and TJ Duckett. Duckett fumbled twice, but both fumbles were overturned. Julius Jones couldn't convert on 3rd and 1, and you could see the frustration he had with himself when the Vikings defense piled up and didn't let him go anywhere.

The real surprise was Justin Forsett, the Seahawks 7th-round pick in the draft. When you look at him the first thing you think is, 'Wow, he's small, and he doesn't look too strong.' But boy does the guy prove you wrong. The advantage with being small is he's fast and quick. He doesn't go down without a fight, showing his toughness. You think he's down but really he's pushing his way through defenders. Only time will tell what this special player can do. The running backs also did something we weren't really used to...

They could catch the ball.

When Shaun was in the backfield, if Hasselback (which was very rare) threw a screen pass to him, you'd hold your breath and close your eyes. Usually it would be a dropped pass. But with this group of guys they can catch. Owen Schmitt proved he could not only run the ball, but he could also catch and block - not to mention block very well. When Justin Forsett was handed the ball, here came big Owen Schmitt blocking defenders and opening holes for Forsett to run through. The offense gave Seahawks fans a sigh of relief, for now.

Another concern was who would replace Josh Brown? The Seahawks signed free agent kicker Olindo Mare in the offseason and drafted Brandon Coutu in April. Both looked good during the game with neither missing. I've said it once, I've said it twice, and I'll say it again: the one thing I liked about Coutu was when he tackled the return man after our special teams failed to do so. The next few games will determine who will be our starting kicker, and in my opinion neither have the edge just yet.

I would say a concern would have to be special teams. Letting guys get 54 yards down the field for great field position makes a fan kind of sick to their stomach. I would hate to see more missed tackles and opposing teams taking it all the way to the endzone for a touchdown.

As for the defense, the first-string guys looked a bit off. The Vikings are known as a running team, and with Rookie of the Year Adrian Peterson in the backfield you would've thought he would get the ball a couple times. That was not the case. The Vikings offense caught the defense off guard and threw the ball several times. What was once the Seahawks defensive strength against the pass looked like their weakness. The Vikings took the ball down the field with ease. The defense looked a little rusty but things will be fixed.

The 2nd and 3rd-string defense looked great! I'd say five forced fumbles, recovering four and a couple of sacks was pretty impressive. There are a couple guys making a name for themselves: David 'The Heater' Hawthorne was incredible, not afraid to make big hits which were crucial. And first-round pick Lawerence Jackson excelled, getting to his former teammate John David Booty for a sack. Look out Darryl Tapp!

All in all, the first preseason game went beyond what some people expected, including myself. If the offense continues to play the way they did in the first quarter, big things can happen. Yes, there were mistakes, but those are mistakes that can be fixed. I'm just as excited for this next preseason game as I was for this one.

The first preseason game at Qwest will be exciting. The Bears are coming to town, and although it's only a meaningless preseason game, the Hawks are here to win!